And Its Parador L Rugged Cuenca
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Rugged Cuenca So Desolate, yet so Hospitable “Creation is here. It is just here that the birth of art and the power of stone come together.” Gerardo Diego UENCA L ittle is known of the beginnings of the enchanting and C And Its Parador enchanted town of Cuenca. However, there is proof – prehistoric remains – which suggests that the region’s first settlements – possibly a great many of them – date from the Neolithic Age. Axes, pottery, and even weapons dating from the subsequent Bronze and Iron Ages have also been discovered. What we do know is that the Roman writers Pliny and Ptolemy tell us that by at least the second century before Christ Celtiberians inhabited the area to the north of the province of Cuenca. They were considered to be: “Cruel on the battlefield, but hospitable in their homes…They wear rough, black cloaks whose wool reminds one of goatskin…. They have a very strange custom: bathing and washing their faces with urine, which they consider the best way of cleansing and caring for their body….” The traveler can (dare we say must) visit the ruins of the original settlement, to be found just a short distance from the Parador. There are also remains of Roman settlements with public works and other examples of what their civilization gave to the area. Another aspect of Cuenca’s origins can be seen in the peoples and culture of the Visigoths and the traces they left, preserved in the Municipal Archaeological Museum. What was once a Roman town and a castle eventually became a monastery occupied by the Order of Saint James. The illustrious Jorge Manrique is said to be buried here, and Francisco de Quevedo died in one of its cells. Other famous locals were Brother Luis de León (from Belmonte) and the Marquis of Villena. Saint Teresa de Jesús spent some time in the area (in Villanueva de la Jara), long enough to found a convent for the Carmelite Mothers. According to the scholars, Cuenca as we know it today was born under the Saracens some time around the 8th century. “Conca”, as it was then known, and its surrounding region were administered by the Emirate of Valencia, but subsequently paid tribute to the taifas of Seville. After not a few attempts, Alfonso VIII finally re- conquered the area for Spanish Christendom in 1117. Cuenca’s frontier position during the Reconquest made it a town of warriors. But the town would also later show itself to be indomitable and undisciplined, the home of the irrepressible Comuneros who rose in unanimous revolt against Emperor Carlos V’s fiscal policies (among others). CUENCA AND ITS PARADOR 1 The town continued to rebel, this time against Carlist ambitions, but eventually capitulated under force of arms in 1874. The nature of the area’s inhabitants may also have been instrumental in the decision to convert the Arab citadel in the upper part of town into a It may be said that the Conquenses (as prison for the Holy Inquisition. It would later be those from Cuenca are known) are the used as a reformatory. children of their geographical location. This would go some way towards explaining their In more recent history, Cuenca has shown clearly rebellious and irrepressible behavior, signs of a more gentle, but equally inflexible, as well as their exceptional hospitality. As the nature. Anti-Franco guerrillas counted among people who live here today rightly say, them the legendary maqui “El Fortuna”, who “courtesy does not detract from courage”. may have taken refuge amongst the ravines and mountains of Cuenca. The population rebelled with equal enthusiasm against the French invasion, Perhaps the Roman was right in the end: although this resistance resulted in the “these people are both unwelcoming and Napoleonic troops torching the town. hospitable at the same time…” The Parador de San Pablo A monastery Protected by The Sultana he Monastery of San Pablo is said to have been founded in 1523 There are a multitude and variety of other theories about the T by a famous and influential canon of the time. The Dominican monastery’s origins. Although it now seems very close to the town, it was canon Pablo – later canonized – chose this strange (at the time), considered to be a quite distant when it was built. Another doubtful distant and harsh place to build a monastery to be used by the Order of theory, yet one widely supported by experts in the subject, is that: Dominican Fathers “for the greater glory of God”, the monastery that today houses the Parador’s guests. “…as Cuenca is a point where terrestrial forces converge, especially at the site of the monastery, Juan del Pozo wanted to take full advantage of There are various explanations as to the reason for this surprising location. this for what would be a place of meditation, prayer, and reflection for the Some verge on legend, while others are more akin to history, its true origins order.” being, even today, shrouded in mystery. This is not such as bad thing, as visitors are then free to choose the “true” origin of the site which now Perhaps it was for this reason that he decided to build at the foot of the welcomes them. According to history, the only thing we know for certain is rock known as La Sultana. that the canon Juan del Pozo built the monastery (today’s Parador), apparently at his own expense. The project was undertaken by the architect Pedro de Alviz, in collaboration with his brother Juan, both of whom had previously Many and varied theories and reasons, each as believable as the others, worked on the cathedral. We know that the elegant cloister was have been put forward to explain why such a costly and inhospitable designed by Pedro, while to Juan we owe the church, built in the late place was chosen. Gothic style with Renaissance decoration. It consists of a single, spacious nave with transept and presbytery, covered by a ribbed-vault One legend claims that “one foggy, winter’s night the canon’s house was ceiling. burgled and all the bags of money he kept in a chest were stolen.” The legend goes on to say that there was a witness, who was mute The façade was not completed during the canon’s lifetime. After a because for one reason or another his tongue had been cut out… but he number of ups and downs, it was finally finished during the 18th was neither stupid nor deaf, and was diligent enough to inform his master century, in the end reflecting the transition from baroque to rococo. of the disaster in time.” The monastery’s founder was buried, at his request, in the center of the And so the pious canon decided that Providence had sent him a sign transept. He lies under a flagstone with his effigy in white stone bas-relief, telling him that this was the site on which to build the monastery. with the following Gothic inscription carved around the borders: “Here lies the body of the unworthy canon Juan del Pozo, founder of 2 CUENCA AND ITS PARADOR this church and monastery, may God have mercy on his soul.” refectory is now the dining room, complete with its magnificent coffered In 1543, Juan del Pozo ordered a bridge built over the Huécar Ravine, ceiling and the original pulpit. linking the convent to the town. What used to be a study is today the Vicenciano Function Room, which It was made up of five rough-hewn stone arches resting on pillars, the contains a magnificently carved coffered ceiling and a beautiful gallery. remains of which can still be seen. It cost the considerable sum of seventy- three thousand ducats. The former chapterhouse has been turned into a café. Its plateresque entrance and painted ceilings with images of Saint Thomas, Saint Francis, According to and Saint Domingo contemporary give it a certain chronicles, “it was solemn air. about a hundred and fifty feet high and All this, together more than three with the building’s hundred and fifty feet magnificent location long.” Due to its poor along the Húecar state of repair, this Ravine, opposite the bridge was Casas Colgadas demolished in 1895 (Hanging Houses), and replaced by a the town’s metal bridge, as was emblematic symbol, the fashion of the makes this one of the time, which still most charming stands there today. Paradors. It retains the monastic The Dominicans ambiance which were the monastery’s enveloped it for first occupants, remaining until 1836, when they were forced to leave by many centuries, and the visitor inevitably succumbs to the peace and Mendizábal’s legislation for the seizure of church property. After a public tranquility exuded by its stones. auction, it passed into the hands of the Bishopric of Cuenca, was converted into a branch of the Council Seminary of San Julián, and called the Seminary of San Pablo. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was ceded by the Bishopric to the Paulist Fathers, who set up a theological seminary. They remained until 1975, when the building’s worsening condition forced them to abandon it. Restoration work began in 1991 with a view to turning the building into a Parador, which was finally opened in April 1993. Great care was taken to respect the historic portions of the building during the restoration process, thus connecting past and present. What was once the A Walk Through Unforgettable Cuenca 1. Cathedral. Built between the 12th and 17th centuries. 7 2. Town Hall. Baroque, 18th century.